study/planning methods that work for me w ADHD
i know that neurotypicals will often tell us that we simply need to plan/study better and that's kind of bullshit but i do have methods that help me quite a bit and idk. i thought I'd share
general planning: make 2 lists. one list is everything you need to do in a week. (if you have 2 seperate categories, like home vs school stuff or family vs school or work or whatever, then make 2). but this is the Big stuff. so like "go grocery shopping" or "finish this paper" or "send this email" or "apply to this job." i find it very very helpful to do this on a post it with checkboxes. but a phone works too, the app keep from google is great for this.
then make a second list. this is everything you need to do TODAY. smaller things, like "do the dishes, take out the trash." and like i said before, if you put "apply to this job" on your weekly list, then you put "write resume" on your daily list.
this is school specific, but in a journal/book i have a page called "long term due dates." this is for, as it suggests, long term due dates. anything that im given lots of time for, i will put in here. this is just so you Know it's coming up.
i really cannot emphasize how much making a list helps. so much of adhd struggles is getting overwhelmed and not knowing where to start, and then just...never starting. make a list. make as many as you need. i promise, i promise it helps.
and this is a very important one: give yourself way more fucking time than you need. stop expecting yourself to work the way you do when you are Peaking. when im on, i can write a paper in an hour. when im not, it takes me days. always, always, always, plan for the days. in my head, i basically move every deadline up 2 days. if it's due sunday, i want it done friday.
this one is less a tip and more personal preference, but i literally hate doing any work on weekends, and i refuse to, so i act like weekends are sacred. i don't go "i can do that on sunday" or "I'll finish it on saturday." i stick to the work-week. i will plan around a weekend, and unless it's absolutely necessary, i won't do work on the weekends. if i need to, then i plan days where i don't have things to do or turn in.
i know nt always say we should plan better or manage our time better, and i get how this can seem like that advice, but i think the main difference is the kindness and leeway you have to allow yourself. i don't get mad at myself for not being able to do something under a certain time limit, i don't get frustrated for taking a while to do something or whatever. you have to give yourself kindness, because nt's wont.
for paper writing: Do An Outline.
i generally follow this format: i research my topic. i copy paste relevant info into a google doc. whole paragraphs, sometimes. i leave the tabs open, if they're useful, or i paste the links into a google doc.
then i write a thesis. then i decide what my sections will be about. if it's a 7 paragraph paper, i have my paragraphs decided on. if I'm unsure, i might even write a thesis for everyt single paragraph. if it's a 10 page paper, i make sure i know what i wanna say within each page, and what topics i want to cover. i do all of this, then i rework my thesis. by that point, you HAVE your paper. you just need to write it. and when you have 1. your sources and knowledge plus a 2. format, it's a lot easier than jumping right in and trying to write and research as you go. (trust me, i write a lot of fucking papers.)
i used to spend my free time willingly studying 10 subjects so that i could take tests also in my free time for fun. if that doesn't tell u something about me, idk what will.
when you're studying for tests! highlighters. i love highlighters. i love them i love them i love them. highlight ur heart out. annotate your heart out. print shit out and write all over it. and then once you have, give it to someone and ask them to ask you about it. trust me, this will help. the human brain is not a computer. we do not input info the same way. we form associations. when it comes to facts, not understanding, you can't expect your brain to be a copier. it needs to form an association. and talking with someone, going over something, trying to remember, failing, then going over it again, will absolutely help.
if it is a specific kind of test (SAT, AP, ACT, etc etc) and you Know what kind of questions they're gonna ask, focus on the questions themselves, as well as the material. often, understanding a question will naturally lead you to an answer. the way questions are phrased, the type of question tests have, the way past questions have been written, your brain will make note of that, and it'll make it easier. think of it as like when you're driving somewhere/trying to get somewhere, your brain is taking notes of the landmarks you pass. when you take the actual test, your brain will see "oh, I've seen a question similar to this, or oh, i know where this is going," and provide examples for what you've seen.
i think the main thing is you have to give yourself a chance to succeed. forget what other people do, or forget how other people study, or what they suggest. a therapist told me that if you're running into a wall all the time, you don't have to keep running into it. if something doesn't work, don't keep doing it.
and that sounds kind of stupidly simple, but it's like: if you keep being late on deadlines, then whatever you're doing, don't do that. go about your process differently. and ik it sounds so much easier than it actually is, but.
for example, (i write a lot of fucking papers). i will have a friend, usually @bruciewayne talk to me as i write. ill do 100 words, and ill talk to her for 10 minutes, then she yells at me to go do another 100. then I'll come back. it's unconventional, but it works for me. you could do 50, or 200, or 150, or whatever. whatever works. i once wrote an entire paper on a phone call with a friend. i was on my way to the library when he called me and i couldn't talk in the library, so i just sat outside on a bench and he talked while i wrote. if doing an outline isn't your thing, call a friend and talk about it. or talk with a TA, or a professor, or a tree, or whatever. most people's thoughts aren't concise, finished products, and ADHD ppl less so. talk. it's what most of us are good at. write, scribble, do whatever.
like i said, you have to give yourself a chance. doing what works for everyone else doesn't work for me. so i don't do it. and if something isn't working, i don't do it. I'll ask a friend to look it over. I'll ask someone for advice. I'll take a shower and look at it again. I'll eat some food and come back to it. I'll change my approach. i give myself time to fuck up.
the academic world isn't really built for us. you have to do what you have to do in order to make it work for You. anyway these are just habits/mindsets/things i do, that help. hope they help at least one person, too.
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